LuckyStar (Miraculous Ladybug One-Shot)
by MiraculouslyTrashy
Summary: When a villain steals the lucky charms of everyone in Paris, Marinette's miraculous gets swept away as well. Now she must do what she can to help Chat as a civilian without revealing her identity.


This was Fredrick's last scratch off ticket. He stood outside the corner store and grasped it in both of his hands, saying a little prayer as several used lottery tickets lay scattered around his feet. He needed some quick cash and decided he'd try his luck. People won the lottery all the time, why couldn't it be him this time, he figured.

He held the ticket to his forehead, taking a slow breath in, before starting to scratch off the ticket with a loose coin. Fredrick feverishly scratched the ticket clean, then scanned it for any winnings. "One thousand francs... one thousand francs!" He shouts in realization, holding up the ticket into the sunlight, feeling truly blessed.

"On your right!" A biker whizzes past Fredrick, accidentally clipping him with the handlebars. Startled, the winning ticket falls out of his fingers and is swept away in the gust created by the biker and the passing cars combined. Fredrick flails, chasing it for a block before it lands and is swept down the sewer. On his hands and knees, he tries to reach through the grate, he tries to lift the grate away, to no avail. He hangs his head as the ticket is washed away beneath the Paris streets, silently cursing himself and his luck.

It's not long before a purple butterfly floats into the picture and fazes into the coin he used. A dark voice echoes in Fredricks mind, "LuckyStar, it looks like luck has not been on your side, as of late, good man. But I can help you obtain the luckiest items in Paris to help you change your fate. All I ask is that you obtain Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous' to help change mine in return."

"Lucky me," Fredrick smirks as he is engulfed in purple smoke.

Marinette's fingers wrap tightly around the lucky charm that Adrien had made her after she had offered her own to him. Her thumb rubs the side of one of the beads under the desk as she watches students file into the classroom.

"You gonna do it today?" Alya whispers as she slides in next to Mari, noticing the charm under the desk.

She nods her head once, her leg bouncing, "I have to, the dance is next week. Today's my last chance." She whispers, her eyes never leaving the door frame.

"Well, I heard he's already turned down Chloe, which explains why she's been in a more foul mood than usual." Alya glances to the side and spies Chloe with her arms crossed over her chest. "Hopefully he said no because he's waiting for a special someone to ask him..."

"Or maybe his father forbade him from going," Marinette adds, twirling the beads in her fingers.

"Only way to find out is to ask him." Alya tries to hide her smirk as Adrien walks in as the bell rings to begin class.

Mari tenses up as Adrien waves to her and Alya before sitting down in front of Marinette.

Alya elbows her encouragingly. She takes a few deep breaths before shakily rising from her seat.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, class is starting; be seated." Ms. Mendeleiev scolds as she moves to the front of the classroom.

She smiles sheepishly before setting herself back down. She turns to Alya and mouths 'After class,' she assures her, putting on a determined face for her friend.

She gives her a knowing look before both of them turn their attention to Ms. Mendeleiev.

Marinette writes her class notes with one hand while still grasping the lucky charm under the table with the other.

It's only a few minutes into class when the classroom windows burst inward with a powerful gust of wind. Everyone immediately takes cover under the desks as the wind whips around the room. Panicked yells start to sound out around the room, one student after another. As Marinette is about to peek her head out to see what the problem is, she feels her lucky charm slide freely from her fist as if nothing were holding it back. Her hands frantically swipe at the air as she watches her lucky charm, among other items get swept out the window.

The air settles not long after. The students all cautiously emerge from their hiding places, all recounting what just had happened.

"My lucky hat!" Nino exclaims, patting his head and realizing it's gone.

"My Ladybug phone charm!" Alya notices as she takes her phone out to report the Akuma activity.

All the students begin to chime in with what lucky item of theirs had been taken.

'Lucky? Lucky things?' Marinette ponders as she ducks out of the classroom in the commotion. Once in the hall, she runs to the restroom and locks the door behind her. "Tikki, spots on!" She calls, opening her purse for her Kwami. But she doesn't fly out.

She looks down into her empty purse, her heart skipping a beat. "Tikki? Tikki?!" she whispers in an urgent tone.

Suddenly, her hand flies to her ear, not feeling her earrings there. She rushes to the sink and stares into the mirror, tears coming to her eyes when she sees her bare earlobes. She braces herself against the sink, tearing her eyes away from the mirror, just staring down the drain.

"Thiscan'tbehappeningthiscan'tbehappening..." she mutters to herself, attempting to control her breathing. "'Lucky things'... they got swept up by the Akuma," The wave of relief of knowing where they went instantly vanishes when she realizes they're one step closer to being in the hands of Hawkmoth. Mari takes a few more steadying breaths before charging out of the bathroom and out of the school. Her eyes scour the Paris skyline, searching for her partner, as she runs down the front stairs.

Frustrated, she calls out "Chat Noir?!", hoping he can hear her from wherever he is.

A few seconds pass before her ears catch the sound of Chat's staff against the sidewalk behind her. She whirls around as he lands before her. "Marinette? Are you okay?" He asks, his face serious.

She opens her mouth to explain everything, but promptly stops herself, realizing she's one misstep away from revealing her identity. Her mouth hangs slightly open as she contemplates what to say, "I...uh, Ladybug. She was just here, and told me to tell you that... something's come up and she is needed elsewhere, right now. So she can't help you with this Akuma. She said she's very sorry and she'll try to be there to capture the Akuma at the end." She improvs, trying her best to keep her cool, holding her hands behind her back to keep from fidgeting under his confused gaze.

He looks at his communicator, "Why didn't she call me herself?"

Marinette shrugs dramatically, "Not sure! But I think she seemed like she had to detransform too, so that's why she told me to tell you what she told me..." she gathers her thoughts for a moment, "She seemed like she was in a rush." She concludes.

Chat's furrowed brow relaxes, "Well, I hope she's okay. Thanks for passing the info along." He salutes, ready to vault himself off towards the Akuma.

"Wait!" She cries, grabbing his shoulder, but quickly releasing as he turns back towards her. "Uh, I can help you, since Ladybug isn't here, like when I helped you fight Evillustrator. The Akuma took a very important lucky charm from me, and I need it back ASAP." She explains, her hands behind her back again.

He can't help but smirk, "You really want to help me out? Did Ladybug put you up to this?" He asks in a joking manner.

She shakes her head, "I-I just feel like I need to do anything I can to get my charm back."

He nods, "You're very brave. I guess you can come along, unless it becomes too dangerous, then I need you to run and save yourself. Promise?" He holds out his right hand.

Mari doesn't hesitate to shake his hand, "Promise."

He pulls her in close while still in his grasp, lifting her onto his back. "Let's get going then. Hope you're not afraid of heights." He intones.

Mari rolls her eyes. Chat makes sure she has a good grip on his shoulders and waist before using his staff to vault them into the air, over the rooftops of Paris.

She catches her stomach doing a little flip as they first enter the air, not used to traveling as Chat does. He retracts his staff at the apex of each leap, creating a moment of weightlessness before he extends it again to keep their forward momentum. She quickly becomes accustomed to this, relaxing her white-knuckled grip on Chat just a tad. He feels his change as he tries to hide his smile from her.

After another few blocks, he stops on flat top roof and lets Marinette down. He motions for her to keep low, as they both look down to where a 10-foot-tall green man, sporting a shamrock logo on his chest, rampages down the street, holding a circular shield seemingly made of the conglomerate of lucky items he had attracted. He roars, "I am LuckyStar! Relinquish all your lucky charms to me so that I may be the luckiest man in the world!"

Chat keeps his voice hushed, "Hmm, if I can get close enough, I should be able to cataclysm his shield to make all the charms fall away-"

"-Revealing the akumatized object." Mari finishes reflexively.

Chat leans back slightly, "You're good at this," He notes, looking harder at Marinette.

Mari shrugs quickly, "Ah, it all rubs off from my friend Alya who runs the Ladyblog." She says, attempting to cover her tracks, forcing her gaze away from him and at the Akumatized person below.

"Mmhmm..." he hums to himself, turning his attention back to the villain, but leaving his previous thought running in the back of his mind. "We need a distraction so I can get close enough to use cataclysm."

"Leave it to me," She assures him. Mari picks up a small, smooth stone that had been lying next to them on the roof.

Chat extends his staff over the side of the building down to the sidewalk. "Be careful. Get out of there if anything starts to go awry." Chat instructs, serious again.

Mari pockets the stone and hangs her legs off the building, "You too." She gently implores, briefly risking a glance at him before sliding down his staff like a fire pole. She plants her feet on the ground and makes her way towards the main street.

She pulls out the stone and rubs it with her thumb as she walks out in front of LuckyStar. He whips around and locks his attention on her. "What do you have there, missy?" He growls.

She raises her eyebrows, "This?" She holds up the stone in the afternoon light, "It's my lucky rock. I've had it since I was a child." She clasps it in both of her hands and holds it against her chest.

"I require it's lucky properties! Hand it over or I will take it from you." He threatens, squaring up his shoulders to her. He stands about 20 feet away from her.

Mari watches Chat approach Lucky Star from behind out of the corner of her eye, the dark glow of cataclysm around his hand. "I-I could never give away my lucky rock!" She exclaims, starting a slow run away from LuckyStar.

LuckyStar starts to spin his shield of charms, creating a funnel of wind aimed at Marinette. It takes hold of her hand with the rock in it, pulling her off balance and to the ground. She attempts to brace herself against the curb, holding onto the rock with all her strength.

His shield spins faster, creating a stronger vortex that rips the stone from her hand. The rock rockets towards the shield, but clips the edge, sending it into the center of Chat's forehead. Chat collapses backwards, careful to hang onto his cataclysm.

LuckyStar turns back and sees Chat clutching his head on the ground. "Lucky me," He smiles, turning back to Marinette, just getting to her feet, "Your 'lucky rock' wasn't actually lucky, was it?" He cocks his head, walking towards her.

"Marinette! Marinette, get out of here!" Chat cries, struggling to get up from his knees.

Marinette stands her ground, ignoring Chat. "I guess not. I've been carrying that rock with me for 10 years, and all this time it wasn't really lucky?" She shakes her head in disbelief, "That explains a lot."

LuckyStar groans, "You've wasted my time, girl. You'll pay for that," he raises his shield, towering over her. As he starts to bring it down on her, Chat leaps from behind his shoulder, touching the shield with his cataclysm and pushing Marinette out of the way as the shield crumbles into its parts.

Chat supports himself protectively over Marinette, "I've got it from here. Please, get someplace safe." He urges, getting back up to destroy the akumatized object still in the possession of Lucky Star.

She nods, watching him run back towards the villain. "Don't worry, Chat," her eyes immediately lock onto where her earrings had been scattered in the pile of lucky charms, "I'll be right back." She whispers to herself, nabbing her Miraculous and running into a nearby alley.

Chat forces LuckyStar back, trying to knock the akumatized coin from his hand. With a decisive blow from his staff, he drops the coin, causing it to roll along the pavement. Chat and LuckyStar move to chase after it, but stop after it lands under the foot of Ladybug.

"Your timing is as impeccable as always, M'lady," Chat smirks, arching an eyebrow.

She returns the smile, crushing the object under her foot. A purple butterfly emerges that is quickly caught by Ladybug and purified. She tosses her yo-yo in the air and exclaims, "Miraculous ladybug!" Sending all the lucky charms back to their owners, and returning Lucky Star back to his civilian self.

Chat strides up to her, putting something in his pocket, "Are you okay? Marinette told me you had to run off earlier today,"

She nods frantically, "Yep, I'm so sorry about abandoning you, I had a, uh, personal emergency and it had to be taken care of," she relays, holding her hands behind her back.

He nods thoughtfully, "I understand, and Marinette even helped out in your place. Turns out we're pretty in-sync. She knows her stuff." He mentions off hand, his eyes only meeting hers in brief flashes.

Ladybug's eyes narrow, "Yeah... I was lucky she was nearby when I needed her."

His eyes widen as he glances at the ground between them, "Speaking of 'lucky'..." He bends down and picks up Marinette's lucky charm that Adrien had made for her, holding it up between them "Does this belong to you?" He asks, slightly hopeful.

Ladybug reflexively lifts her hand to take it, her eyes lighting up at its return to her, "Oh thank goodness," she effuses, cupping it in both of her hands.

Chat tries to hold back a smile, "That-that thing's pretty important to you, isn't it?"

She looks up, now slightly embarrassed of her reaction, "Oh, yeah, it is. It's... my friend made it for me."

He moves closer to her, "I, uh, I have something pretty similar actually," Chat implies, "a lucky charm from a friend."

"That's sweet; did you get it back?" She asks, still holding her charm, oblivious to the pleading look in Chat's eyes. His ring beeps before he can answer. "Oh, we better get going," Ladybug chimes.

"Yeah, I did get it back." He answers, unable to look away from her.

"Oh, I'm glad." She replies a bit awkwardly, giving him a look of concern and confusion. "We should really-"

He swiftly presses something into the palm of her hand, wrapping her fingers around it. "M'lady, do you trust me?" He whispers, holding her hand closed, leaning in so their foreheads are almost touching.

"Of course." She affirms, seeing tears welling in his eyes, "What's wrong, Chaton? What is this?" His miraculous beeps again. With a slight panic rising inside her, she hastily guides the two of them into a narrow alley, out of the sight of the public, their hands never leaving each other. "You're running out of time, please tell me what's going on." She pleads, wanting to help her partner, but unsure if it would lead to revealing his identity.

He removes his hand from hers, "Open it," he instructs calmly, but a goofy grin steadily grows on his face.

She sighs and slowly opens her hand, revealing the lucky charm that she gave Adrien.

"W-why do you have this? All the charms should have gone back to their owners; why is this one..." she trials off, lost in the logistics, missing the big picture.

Chat lets out a chuckle, cupping her hand, speaking in a low, slow voice, "Not only do you have my heart, Princess, but you also have my lucky charms." He raises her hand holding his charm, "The one you gave me," he reaches out and raises her other hand, holding her charm, "and the one I gave you." He leans down and softly kisses the charm in her hand.

Ladybug backs up against the brick wall, putting what little space there was available, between them. Her eyes dart between the two lucky charms in her hands. "A- Adr, Adri-" She stammers, trembling slightly.

Chat approaches her slowly, his arms open, "Mari? Marinette?"

She collapses into his arms, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest, "A-Adrien," she sighs against him.

With a final beep, he detransforms. Ladybug only has to glance briefly up at his face before she embraces him harder, never wanting to let go; All the fear of revealing their identities melting away.

"Seems like it turned out to be our lucky day, after all." Adrien jests, lightly kissing the top of her head.

She pulls back and detransforms; Adrien watching her in complete awe, "Beautiful," he mouths.

Marinette can't hide the bloom of blush that had taken hold of her face. She kisses the charm she made for him and presses it into his hand. "The luckiest." Her eyes widen suddenly, "Oh, I do have one question for you..." she tucks her hair behind her ear.

"Anything," he breathes, his heart thrumming in his chest.

"Will you go to the dance with me?" She mused, pretty confident of the answer she would now receive.

Adrien immediately embraces her, "I thought you'd never ask," he lifts her up and spins her around in the purest elation that Paris had ever known.


End file.
